Systems and methods for managing service level agreements of support tickets using a chat session

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods of the present disclosure facilitate managing information technology service level agreements. In some embodiments, the system includes a server that accesses a database storing a support ticket in memory. The support ticket can include a creation time and a service level agreement. The service level agreement can include a maximum response time. The server initiates, via the computer network, responsive to input from a computing device, a chat session associated with the computing device and the support ticket. The initiating can be associated with a time stamp. The server can be configured to determine a compliance with the service level agreement. The compliance can be computed as a difference between the time stamp and the creation time being less than the maximum response time. The server can be configured to generate a notification of the compliance with the service level agreement.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 asa continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/448,629, filedJul. 31, 2014, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to customer support tickets.More specifically, the present disclosure relates to service levelagreements of customer support tickets and initiating a chat session.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Customers of information technology services may encounter problemsrelated to an information technology service or product, or makerequests for a service or product. Customers may contact a provider ofthe information technology services to address the problems or requests.The provider may create support tickets to organize and facilitateaddressing the customers' problems and requests. The provider mayprovide service level agreements with guaranteed response times tosatisfy the requirements of customers. As providers of informationtechnology services receive numerous requests from various customers, itmay be challenging to monitor, comply with, and audit the service levelagreements.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A company may want to provide customer support to customers tofacilitate resolving problems. These problems may involve any aspect ofthe business of the customer. For example, a customer may want help tofix a hardware failure, or help to use a software application, or helpto configure a software service, or help to understand an invoice, oreven help to track down a missing shipment. The company may choose touse a software application designed for customer support to facilitatethe support process. The customer support application may be a ticketingsystem. In a ticketing system, an end user can enter a request for help.The request can be stored in a support ticket, and the support ticketcan be used to track the status of the help request until it is solved.

The company may commit to a service level agreement (SLA). The SLA mayguarantee a maximum time to respond to an incident, and may alsoguarantee a different maximum time to resolve an incident. For example,one SLA could specify a maximum of 30 minutes to respond to an incident,and a maximum of 24 hours to resolve an incident. A second SLA mayinstead specify a maximum of 4 hours to respond to an incident, and amaximum of 48 hours to resolve an incident. The company may have to paya penalty for every incident where the SLA is not met. The company maybe able to charge different prices for the same customer support servicedepending on the SLA that is provided.

The ticketing system may support chat connections between the supporttechnicians and end users. Chat sessions can facilitate improving theefficiency of technicians, and reducing frustration by end users, byreducing the delay introduced by waiting for messages, when using emailfor communication, or playing “phone tag” or waiting on hold, when usingthe phone for communication. Chat sessions may also facilitate improvingthe efficiency of technicians by allowing technicians to interact withmore than one end user at the same time. In particular, a technician cancontinue to help other end users while waiting for one end user toperform an action. Similarly, an end user may prefer chat sessions forcommunicating with technicians, because using a chat session mayfacilitate the end user to continue other work while also proceedingwith the support task. End user satisfaction may also be increased bythe fact that the same number of technicians may be able to service alarger number of end users at the same time, which may reduce theaverage wait times for all end users.

Measuring compliance with SLAs can be important for the company, sinceSLA compliance can affect the revenue of the company, and can also bedirectly related to customer satisfaction. It may help the company tohave direct measurement of SLA compliance in order to do accuratebilling. It may benefit the company to also have auditing of SLAcompliance in order to resolve customer disputes about the billing. Thecompany may also want to have alerts when SLAs are approachingnon-compliance, in order to be able to allocate resources properly toavoid the non-compliance.

SLA compliance may be measured by the ticketing system, by recording thetimes when a support ticket is created, when a technician proposes amethod for solving the issue, when the support ticket is first addressedby a technician, and when the support ticket is closed. The creationtime for a support ticket may be well established, since the ticketingsystem may be able to record it accurately when the support ticket isfirst entered. However, it may be more difficult to accurately establishthe response time and the resolution time, and in particular, it may bemore difficult to properly audit these times in order to resolvecustomer disputes about billing. For example, a customer may assert thata technician accepted a support ticket in order to avoid SLAnon-compliance, but did not actually start working on the support ticketat that time. In another example, a customer may assert that atechnician closed a support ticket when the issue was not actuallyresolved, in order to avoid SLA non-compliance. In yet another example,a technician may forget to close a support ticket when the issue isresolved, creating an apparent SLA non-compliance when none actuallyexists.

Systems and methods of the present disclosure for integrating chatsessions with a ticketing system can facilitate setting the responsetime for a support ticket when a technician starts chatting with the enduser, and setting the resolution time for the support ticket when thechat session is closed. The contents of the chat session can also besaved as a transcript with the support ticket, which can provide auditinformation demonstrating that the customer accepted the issue as beingresolved. The present disclosure describes methods and systems forintegrating a chat system into a ticketing system to provide SLAcompliance information.

At least one aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a systemfor managing information technology service level agreements. In someembodiments, the system includes a computer network and a server. Theserver can be configured to access a database that stores a supportticket in memory. The support ticket can include a creation time and aservice level agreement. The service level agreement can include amaximum response time. The server can be configured to initiate, via thecomputer network, responsive to input from a computing device, a chatsession associated with the computing device and the support ticket. Theinitiating can be associated with a time stamp. The server can beconfigured to determine a compliance with the service level agreement.The compliance can be computed as a difference between the time stampand the creation time being less than the maximum response time. Theserver can be configured to generate a notification of the compliancewith the service level agreement.

In some embodiments, the service level further includes a maximumresolution time. The server can be further configured to terminate, viathe computer network, responsive to input from a second computingdevice, the chat session. The terminating can be associated with asecond time stamp. The server can be configured to determine a secondcompliance with the service level agreement. The second compliance canbe computed as the difference between the second time stamp and the timestamp being less than the maximum resolution time. The server can beconfigured to generate a second notification of the second compliancewith the service level agreement.

In some embodiments, the support ticket further comprises a status. Theserver can be further configured to modify, responsive to theterminating, the status to indicate a closed status.

In some embodiments, the server can be further configured to initiate,via the computer network, responsive to input from a second computingdevice, a second chat session associated with the second computingdevice and the support ticket. The initiating can be associated with asecond time stamp. The server can be further configured to modify,responsive to the initiating of the second chat session, the status toindicate an open status, and the creation time to be the second timestamp.

In some embodiments, the service level agreement further comprises amaximum resolution time. The support ticket can further comprise astatus. The server can be further configured to modify, responsive toinput from a second computing device, the status to indicate a closedstatus, The modifying can be associated with a second time stamp. Theserver can be further configured to determine a second compliance withthe service level agreement. The second compliance can be computed asthe difference between the second time stamp and the time stamp beingless than the maximum resolution time. The server can be furtherconfigured to generate a second notification of the second compliancewith the service level agreement.

In some embodiments, the support ticket further comprises a status. Theserver can be further configured to modify, responsive to input from asecond computing device, the status to indicate a closed status. Theserver can be further configured to terminate, via the computer network,responsive to the modifying, the chat session.

In some embodiments, the server can be further configured to initiate,via the computer network, responsive to input from a second computingdevice, a second chat session associated with the second computingdevice. The second initiating can be associated with a second timestamp. The server can be further configured to create a second supportticket comprising a second creation time. The second creation time canbe equal to the second time stamp.

In some embodiments, the server can be further configured to receive,from a clock, a current time as a second time stamp. The server can befurther configured to determine a warning of the service levelagreement. The warning can be computed as the difference between thesecond time stamp and the creation time can be more than a thresholdpercentage of the maximum response time. The server can be furtherconfigured to generate a notification of the warning of the servicelevel agreement.

At least one aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a methodfor managing information technology service level agreements via acomputer network. The method can include a server accessing a databasethat stores a support ticket in memory. The support ticket can include acreation time and a service level agreement. The service level agreementcan include a maximum response time. The method can include the serverinitiating, via the computer network, responsive to input from acomputing device, a chat session associated with the computing deviceand the support ticket. The initiating can be associated with a timestamp. The method can include the server determining a compliance withthe service level agreement. The compliance can be computed as adifference between the time stamp and the creation time being less thanthe maximum response time. The method can include the server generatinga notification of the compliance with the service level agreement.

At least one aspect of the present disclosure is directed to anon-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, whenexecuted by one or more processors, facilitate managing informationtechnology service level agreements via a computer network. Theinstructions can include instructions to access a database that stores asupport ticket in memory. The support ticket can include a creation timeand a service level agreement. The service level agreement can include amaximum response time. The instructions can include instructions toinitiate, via the computer network, responsive to input from a computingdevice, a chat session associated with the computing device and thesupport ticket. The initiating can be associated with a time stamp. Theinstructions can include instructions to determine a compliance with theservice level agreement. The compliance can be computed as a differencebetween the time stamp and the creation time being less than the maximumresponse time. The instructions can include instructions to generate anotification of the compliance with the service level agreement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The details of one or more implementations of the subject matterdescribed in this specification are set forth in the accompanyingdrawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, andadvantages of the subject matter will become apparent from thedescription, the drawings, and the claims.

FIG. 1 is an illustrative block diagram of an embodiment of a system formanaging service level agreements of support tickets using a chatsession.

FIG. 2 is an illustrative example of an embodiment of a user interfacefor using a chat session to manage a service level agreement of asupport ticket.

FIG. 3A is an illustrative example of an embodiment of a user interfacefor a service board to facilitate a support agent using chat sessions tomanage service level agreements of support tickets.

FIG. 3B is an illustrative example of an embodiment of a user interfacefor a customer to use chat sessions to manage support tickets and alsofacilitate managing the service level agreements of those supporttickets.

FIG. 4 is an illustrative block diagram of an embodiment of a system formanaging service level agreement compliance of support tickets usingchat sessions.

FIG. 5 is an illustrative block diagram of an embodiment of a system formanaging service level agreement compliance of a support ticket whileclosing the support ticket.

FIG. 6 is an illustrative block diagram of an embodiment of a system formanaging the service level agreement of a support ticket while creatingthe support ticket using a chat session.

FIG. 7 is an illustrative block diagram of an embodiment of a system forwarning service level agreement compliance issues of a support ticket.

FIG. 8 is an illustrative flowchart depicting one embodiment of a methodof managing information technology service level agreements via acomputer network.

FIG. 9 is an illustrative flowchart depicting one embodiment of a methodof checking service level agreement compliance as a result ofterminating a chat session.

FIG. 10 is an illustrative flowchart depicting one embodiment of amethod of closing a support ticket and checking service level agreementcompliance as a result of terminating a chat session.

FIG. 11 is an illustrative flowchart depicting one embodiment of amethod of reopening an existing support ticket with a chat session.

FIG. 12 is an illustrative flowchart depicting one embodiment of amethod of checking service level agreement compliance as a result ofclosing a support ticket.

FIG. 13 is an illustrative flowchart depicting one embodiment of amethod of terminating a chat session as a result of closing a supportticket.

FIG. 14 is an illustrative flowchart depicting one embodiment of amethod of creating a new support ticket with a chat session.

FIG. 15 is an illustrative flowchart depicting one embodiment of amethod of warning about potential service level agreement complianceissues.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Systems and methods of the present disclosure can facilitate managinginformation technology service level agreements. The system can includea server, which can provide a ticketing system with service levelagreements. Support agents and customers can use computing devices toaccess the ticketing system and service level agreements. The ticketingsystem can use a database to store support tickets and information aboutthem. The system can include a computer network, which can serve toconnect the server and the computing devices, as well as othercomponents in the system. The server can measure compliance with theservice level agreements in the ticketing system. The server can startchat sessions associated with the computing devices and support tickets.The server can generate notifications based on compliance with theservice level agreements. The server can generate user interfaces fordisplay on the computing devices.

The ticketing system can be used to manage support incidents byassociating a support ticket with each support incident. A supportticket can be created when a support incident is reported. For example,a support agent can create a support ticket in response to a phone callfrom a customer reporting a problem. In another example, a customer cancreate a support ticket in order to report a support incident. Supportincidents may involve one or more aspect of the business of thecustomer. For example, a customer may want help to fix a hardwarefailure, or help to use a software application, or help to configure asoftware service, or help to understand an invoice, or even help totrack down a missing shipment.

The support ticket can store multiple fields of information about thesupport incident. For example, the support ticket can store the companyname for the customer, the contact name for the customer, the phonenumber for the customer, the email address for the customer, a site namefor the customer, the address for the customer, the service agreementfor the customer, a sales opportunity being pursued, the deadline forthe support ticket, the service level agreement (SLA) for the supportticket, the support ticket status, the class of service applied to thesupport ticket, the way the support ticket was originally entered, theperson who originally entered the support ticket, the severity of thesupport ticket, the impact of the support ticket, the time budgeted forthe support ticket, a summary of the issue, a detailed description ofthe issue, the history of the support ticket so far, internal notesabout the support ticket, the account manager for the customer, the timeand date the support ticket was originally entered, the time and datethe support ticket had a first response, the time and date the supportticket had a proposed solution accepted, the time and date the supportticket was resolved, the time and date the support ticket was closed,the time and date the support ticket was reopened, or other informationrelated to the support incident.

The support ticket can store a ticket status. This can help to managethe life cycle of the support ticket. For example, when the supportticket is first created, it can have a ticket status of “new”. When thesupport agent starts working on the support incident described by thesupport ticket, the status can be changed to “processing”. If thesupport agent asks the customer for more information, or asks thecustomer to make a change, the ticket status can be changed to“waiting”. When the support incident is resolved, the ticket status canbe changed to “closed”. If it is discovered that the support incidenthas not been fully resolved, the ticket status can be changed to“reopened”. In this way, the ticket status can be used to facilitaterouting the support ticket to the attention of the right individual, andcan also be used to track the progress of the solution of the supportincident.

Service boards can be used to manage groups of support tickets. Aservice board can show a group of support tickets, showing a summary ofeach support ticket in the group. The support tickets on a service boardcan be selected, ordered, and segmented based on the fields in thesupport tickets. For example, one service board can select one, some orall support tickets with a ticket status of “new”, order the supporttickets by the support ticket creation time, oldest first, and segmentthe support tickets by the class of service the customer has purchased.In this way, this service board can be used to monitor new supportissues from the most important customers, and help to address the onesfirst that have been outstanding the longest time. In another example, aservice board can select one, some or all support tickets that areassigned to a certain support agent and order them by the priority thathas been assigned to the support ticket. In this way, the support agentcan use this service board to quickly decide on which support ticket(and which support issue) to work on next.

The server may facilitate the creation of a chat session between asupport agent and a customer. The support agent can be an individual whois using a computing device to work with a customer to help address thesupport issue. In a chat session, a separate window can be created onthe computing devices of the support agent and the customer. Theseparate window can allow both participants to type messages to eachother, and can display a record of the messages over time. The chatagent may also facilitate the creation of a remote control session, inwhich the support agent can monitor the outputs of the computing deviceof the customer, such as the screen and the audio output, and cantemporarily take control of the input devices on the computing device ofthe customer, such as a mouse and keyboard. In this way, the supportagent may be able to work on the support incident more efficiently.

The server may allow the customer to sign in using authenticationcredentials such as a user name and password. In this way, the servermay be able to display a service board, on a computing device, to thecustomer. The customer service board can be configured to show thesupport tickets associated with the customer, which may allow thecustomer to check on the status of the support tickets or update thesupport tickets as desired.

The service boards may be configured to start a chat session associatedwith a support ticket on the service board. Both the service boards usedby the support agent and the service board shown to the customer can beconfigured to start chat sessions in this way. When a service board isused to start a chat session, the chat session can display the chattranscript along with the support ticket, and can facilitate updatingthe support ticket during the duration of the chat session. This mayfacilitate the resolution of support incidents that require attentionover a longer period of time, or that require attention by more than onesupport agent, by making information about the support incident moreeasily available.

Using chat sessions to support customers may facilitate the efficiencyof a support agent by allowing the support agent to work with more thanone customer at the same time. For example, if the support agent isresolving a billing issue with one customer that requires the customerto verify a copy of an invoice, then the support agent can work withanother customer on a software installation issue while the firstcustomer goes to find the invoice. The support management may wish toset a limit on the maximum number of simultaneous chat sessions that asupport agent will have, in order to prevent a degradation of thequality of the service seen by customers. For example, the managementmay set a limit of three chat sessions for one support agent. The systemcan then prevent additional chat sessions from being opened with thatsupport agent once the limit of three has been reached.

A chat session may include more participants than one support agent andone customer. For example, a first support agent may discover that thesupport incident involves specialized knowledge that would be betteraddressed by a second support agent who is a local expert in thatspecialized knowledge. The first support agent may decide to bring thesecond support agent into the support incident, and may add the secondsupport agent to the chat session, which can now be associated with thecustomer, the first support agent, and the second support agent. Thechat session may support all three participants seeing every message.The chat session may also support private messages between the firstsupport agent and the second support agent, so that the customer doesnot see these messages. The chat session may support the first supportagent turning the support ticket over to the second support agent, sothat the support ticket is updated to show that the second support agentis managing the support ticket, and the first support agent is leavingthe chat session. It should be understood that the chat session cansupport multiple support agents and multiple customers as needed inorder to address the support incident.

The ticketing system may display information about the support incidentin addition to the information that is included in the support ticket.For example, the company may have a monitoring system in place thatrecords information about the computing devices and their activity. Theticketing system may be able to access the monitoring information aboutthe computing device associated with the support ticket, and may be ableto display that monitoring information along with the support ticket.

The ticketing system can use queues to facilitate support agents inaddressing support incidents. The queues can be given names thatgenerally correspond with a class of support incident, for example, aqueue may have the name “billing”, indicating that it is intended forbilling questions and issues, and another queue may have the name“hardware”, indicating that it is intended for issues with hardwarecomponents such as machines, networking equipment, and displays. A queuecan be associated with a service board, which may indicate that creatinga support ticket associated with the queue will also associate it withthe service board, which can cause it to be displayed on the serviceboard. A support agent can be associated with one or more queues, whichmay indicate that the support agent is available to work on supporttickets associated with those queues.

The ticketing system can have workflow rules that can automate supportticket processing. A workflow rule can have a set of criteria to selecta set of support tickets, and can have a set of actions to take on theselected support tickets. For example, a workflow rule can selectsupport tickets that have had the “new” status for longer than one hour,and the action can be to change the service board associated with thesupport ticket to a “late” service board and send an alert email to aset of service managers. The service managers may monitor the “late”service board and allocate resources as needed to help ensure that thecompany responds to customer requests in a timely way.

Support tickets may be associated with a service level agreement (SLA).Customers may be associated with an SLA. An SLA can include a name, aresponse priority matrix, and service level targets (SLTs). Each supportticket can have a severity level associated with it. The severity levelcan indicate how widespread a support issue is. For example, theseverity level can have a value of “low” indicating that one user or asmall group of users are affected by the support issue, a value of“medium” indicating that a whole department or a large group of usersare affected by the support issue, and a value of “high” indicating thatthe whole company is affected by the support issue. Each support ticketcan have an impact level associated with it. The impact level canindicate how important the support issue is. For example, the impactlevel can have a value of “low” indicating that the support issue isirritating but does not prevent work, a value of “medium” indicatingthat the support issue interferes with work but has a reasonableworkaround, and a value of “high” indicating that the support issueprevents work from proceeding. The response priority matrix in an SLAcan map combinations of severity and impact values to priorities. Forexample, the combination of “high” severity and “high” impact may map toa priority of “critical”, which may be the highest priority, because itcan represent a support issue that affects the whole company andprevents work from proceeding. Each priority can have a service leveltarget (SLT) associated with it. An SLT can include a service schedule,a response goal for “initial response”, a response goal for “resolutionplan”, and a response goal for “resolution”. The service schedule canindicate the times during which the SLT applies. For example, a serviceschedule can indicate service during normal business hours, and adifferent service schedule can indicate service at some or all times(24×7). Each response goal can include a time period and a percentage.The response goal can indicate that the support team will accomplish theactivity within the time period at least as often as indicated by thepercentage. For example, if a response goal indicates a time period of 1hour and 90%, the service level agreement will be satisfied if thesupport team completes the activity within 1 hour at least 90% of thetime. The response goal for “initial response” can indicate the goal forcontacting the customer after the support ticket is created. Theresponse goal for “resolution plan” can indicate the goal for having awritten plan of action for resolving the support issue after the supportticket is created. The response goal for “resolution” can indicate thegoal for resolving the support issue after the support ticket iscreated. For example, a “critical” priority may have an SLT with a24-hour schedule, an “initial response” goal of 2 hours at 80%, a“resolution plan” goal of 8 hours at 80%, and a “resolution” goal of 16hours at 90%.

The service provider may use SLAs to provide different products. Forexample, a service provider can provide the same service to twodifferent customers and charge more to one of the customers because theSLA indicates a higher service level, with a longer schedule, shorterresponse goal times, or higher response goal percentages. The customersmay then require measurement of the performance of the service provideragainst the SLA. For example, if the SLA requires an initial response of2 hours at 80%, the service provider may show that for some or all thesupport tickets covered by that SLA, at least 80% of the support ticketshad an initial response in 2 hours or less. If fewer than 80% of thesupport tickets covered by the SLA had an initial response in 2 hours orless, the service provider may not be in compliance with the SLA, andmay be required to offer compensation to the customer. In order tocorrectly measure SLA compliance, it may be necessary to have accuratetimes associated with the support ticket for the initial creation time,the time of the first response, the time when the resolution plan ispresented to the customer, and the time when the support issue isresolved.

The server can generate notifications based on the SLA compliance. Forexample, if a support ticket becomes non-compliant with an SLA, theserver can generate an alert for a service manager that the supportticket needs special attention. This alert may be communicated by email,text message, chat session, voice phone call, pop-up message, or othercommunication channel. This alert may also update a display of the SLAcompliance status in a user interface.

The server can generate warnings based on SLA compliance. These warningsmay facilitate avoiding a support ticket becoming non-compliant with anSLA, by allowing action to be taken to prevent the non-compliance. Theserver can generate a warning when the parameters governing SLAnon-compliance come within a certain threshold or percentage thresholdof the non-compliance level. This warning may be communicated by email,text message, chat session, voice phone call, pop-up message, or othercommunication channel. This warning may also update a display of the SLAcompliance status in a user interface.

A chat session may facilitate providing accurate times for measuring SLAcompliance. In an illustrative example, a customer may create a supportticket by opening a chat session with a support agent. The creation timeof the support ticket can be recorded as the time when the chat sessionwas opened. The initial response time of the support ticket can berecorded as the time when the customer receives the first chat responsefrom a support agent. The user interface for the chat session canprovide a selectable control indicating that a proposed solution for thesupport issue has been accepted, and the resolution plan time of thesupport ticket can be recorded as the time when this control isselected. The user interface for the chat session can provide aselectable control indicating that the support issue has been resolved,and the resolution time of the support ticket can be recorded as thetime when this control is selected. The resolution time of the supportticket may also be recorded as the time when the chat session isterminated. The SLA compliance status of the support ticket can becomputed based on the recorded times and can be displayed in a userinterface.

In another illustrative example, a customer may create a support ticketusing an online form, or by calling a dispatch agent on the phone, whomay enter a support ticket into the ticketing system. The creation timeof the support ticket can be recorded as the time when the supportticket was first entered, either by the customer or by the dispatchagent. Later, a support agent may open a chat session with the customerbased on the support ticket. The initial response time of the supportticket can be recorded as the time when the chat session is opened. Theuser interface for the chat session can provide a selectable controlindicating that a proposed solution for the support issue has beenaccepted, and the resolution plan time of the support ticket can berecorded as the time when this control is selected. The user interfacefor the chat session can provide a selectable control indicating thatthe support issue has been resolved, and the resolution time of thesupport ticket can be recorded as the time when this control isselected. The resolution time of the support ticket may also be recordedas the time when the chat session is terminated. The SLA compliancestatus of the support ticket can be computed based on the recorded timesand can be displayed in a user interface.

After a support ticket has been closed, a customer may discover that thesame problem happens again, or the original problem recurs. It may bedesirable to use the same support ticket for this second or continuationsupport incident. For example, it may save effort by eliminating orreducing or substantially reducing the need for the customer to enterdata again, or it may facilitate using the same resolution for theproblem or modifying the resolution. It may be possible to change thestatus of the support ticket from a “closed” status to a “reopened”status to indicate that the same issue needs to be addressed. Theticketing system can set the creation time of the support ticket to thetime at which this status change is made, and SLA compliance trackingcan also be restarted on the support ticket.

Turning to the figures, FIG. 1 is an illustrative block diagram of anembodiment of a system for managing service level agreements of supporttickets using a chat session. The server 101 can access a database 102and retrieve, into memory 103, a support ticket 104 and a service levelagreement (SLA) 105. The support ticket 104 can include a creation time106 a and a reference 106 b to an SLA. In the embodiment depicted inFIG. 1, the reference 106 b is associated with the SLA 105. The SLA 105can include a maximum response time 107. A support agent 109 can use acomputing device 108 to interact with the server 101 to start a chatsession 110. The chat session 110 can be associated with the supportticket 104. The chat session 110 can record the time stamp 111 at whichthe support agent 109 creates the first chat comment. A compliancemeasurement 112 can compute the elapsed time between the creation time106 a of the support ticket 104 and the time stamp 111 of the firstresponse of the support agent 109, and compare it to the maximumresponse time 107 of the SLA 105. If the elapsed time is greater thanthe maximum response time 107, the compliance measurement 112 candetermine that the support ticket 104 is not in compliance with the SLA105; otherwise the compliance measurement 112 can determine that thesupport ticket 104 is in compliance with the SLA 105. The compliancemeasurement 112 can transmit this determination to the server 101. Theserver 101 may generate a notification 113 about the SLA compliance,based on this determination.

The one or more servers 101 associated with the system may not bephysically proximate to each other or in the same machine farm. Thus,the servers logically grouped as a machine farm may be interconnectedusing a wide-area network (WAN) connection or a metropolitan-areanetwork (MAN) connection. For example, a machine farm may includeservers physically located in different continents or different regionsof a continent, country, state, city, campus, or room. Data transmissionspeeds between servers in the machine farm can be increased if theservers are connected using a local-area network (LAN) connection orsome form of direct connection.

Management of the servers may be de-centralized. For example, one ormore servers may comprise components, subsystems and circuits to supportone or more management services. In one of these embodiments, one ormore servers provide functionality for management of dynamic data,including techniques for handling failover, data replication, andincreasing robustness. Each server may communicate with a persistentstore and, in some embodiments, with a dynamic store.

A server may include a file server, application server, web server,proxy server, appliance, network appliance, gateway, gateway, gatewayserver, virtualization server, deployment server, secure sockets layervirtual private network (“SSL VPN”) server, or firewall. In oneembodiment, the server may be referred to as a remote machine or a node.In one embodiment, the server may be referred to as a cloud.

The server 101, database 102, memory 103, computing device 108,compliance measurement 112, and compliance notification 113 may beconnected to a network. The network can include a local-area network(LAN), such as a company Intranet, a metropolitan area network (MAN), ora wide area network (WAN), such as the Internet or the World Wide Web.In some embodiments, there are multiple networks between the devices andthe servers. In one of these embodiments, the network may be a publicnetwork, a private network, or may include combinations of public andprivate networks.

The network may be any type or form of network and may include one ormore of the following: a point-to-point network, a broadcast network, awide area network, a local area network, a telecommunications network, adata communication network, a computer network, an ATM (AsynchronousTransfer Mode) network, a SONET (Synchronous Optical Network) network, aSDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) network, a wireless network and awireline network. In some embodiments, the network may include awireless link, such as an infrared channel or satellite band. Thetopology of the network may include a bus, star, or ring networktopology. The network may include mobile telephone networks utilizingany protocol or protocols used to communicate among mobile devices,including advanced mobile phone protocol (“AMPS”), time divisionmultiple access (“TDMA”), code-division multiple access (“CDMA”), globalsystem for mobile communication (“GSM”), general packet radio services(“GPRS”) or universal mobile telecommunications system (“UMTS”). In someembodiments, different types of data may be transmitted via differentprotocols. In other embodiments, the same types of data may betransmitted via different protocols.

The system and its components, such as a server 101, database 102,memory 103, computing device 108, compliance measurement 112, compliancenotification 113, and chat session 110 may include hardware elements,such as one or more processors, logic devices, or circuits. For example,the system and its components may include a bus or other communicationcomponent for communicating information and a processor or processingcircuit coupled to the bus for processing information. The hardwareelements can also include one or more processors or processing circuitscoupled to the bus for processing information. The system also includesmain memory, such as a random access memory (RAM) or other dynamicstorage device, coupled to the bus for storing information, andinstructions to be executed by the processor. Main memory can also beused for storing position information, temporary variables, or otherintermediate information during execution of instructions by theprocessor. The system may further include a read only memory (ROM) orother static storage device coupled to the bus for storing staticinformation and instructions for the processor. A storage device, suchas a solid state device, magnetic disk or optical disk, can be coupledto the bus for persistently storing information and instructions.

The system and its components, such as a server 101, database 102,memory 103, computing device 108, compliance measurement 112, compliancenotification 113, and chat session 110 may include, e.g., computingdevices, desktop computers, laptop computers, notebook computers, mobileor portable computing devices, tablet computers, smartphones, personaldigital assistants, or other computing device.

According to various embodiments, the processes described herein can beimplemented by the system or hardware components in response to the oneor more processors executing an arrangement of instructions contained inmemory. Such instructions can be read into memory from anothercomputer-readable medium, such as a storage device. Execution of thearrangement of instructions contained in memory causes the system toperform the illustrative processes described herein. One or moreprocessors in a multi-processing arrangement may also be employed toexecute the instructions contained in memory. In alternativeembodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or incombination with software instructions to effect illustrativeembodiments. Thus, embodiments are not limited to any specificcombination of hardware circuitry and software. To provide forinteraction with a user, embodiments of the subject matter described inthis specification can be implemented on a computer having a displaydevice, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display)monitor, for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and apointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by which the user canprovide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used toprovide for interaction with a user as well; for example, feedbackprovided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visualfeedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from theuser can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactileinput.

FIG. 2 is an illustrative example of an embodiment of a user interfacefor using a chat session to manage a service level agreement of asupport ticket. The user interface 201 can include a section 202 withinformation about the support ticket and a section 203 with informationabout the chat session. Section 202 can include a summary 204 of thesupport ticket, a label 205 for detail about the support ticket,additional detail about the support ticket 206 a, 206 b, and so on, adisplay 207 of the creation time of the support ticket, a display 208 ofthe maximum response time in the SLA associated with the ticket, and adisplay 209 indicating whether the support ticket is in compliance withthe SLA. It should be noted that FIG. 2 is indicative of the display ofdetails of the support ticket 206 a, 206 b, and so on, but does not showa full representation; the composition and display of such arepresentation is known to one skilled in the art.

Section 203 can include a record of the interaction between the supportagent and the customer. This can include messages 212 a-c created by thesupport agent, messages 213 a-d created by the customer, and time stamps211 a-g indicating when each message was created.

Section 202 can also include a control 210 a to start a chat sessionassociated with the ticket displayed in section 202, a control 210 bthat can be selected to indicate that the customer has accepted aproposed solution to the support issue, and a control 210 c that can beselected to indicate that the customer has agreed that the support issuehas been resolved. By way of example, the support agent may selectcontrol 210 b after seeing the customer response 213 b, and the servermay record the time stamp 211 d associated with message 213 b as theresolution plan time for the support ticket. Also by way of example, thecustomer may select control 210 c after creating the message 213 d, andthe server may record the time stamp 211 f associated with message 213 das the resolution time for the support ticket. Using the time stamps 211a-g instead of recording the time when the controls 210 b-c wereselected may provide a more accurate measurement of when the relatedevents actually happened.

In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, the support ticket was created at10:14 AM as shown by the creation time 207. The first response by thesupport agent was at 10:33 AM as shown by the time stamp 211 aassociated with the first chat message 212 a. The elapsed time to thefirst response is 19 minutes, which is less than the maximum responsetime 208 of 30 minutes, so the support ticket is in compliance with theSLA, as shown by the compliance indication 209.

It should be noted that the user interface 201 can be used by both asupport agent and a customer. There can also be different embodiments ofthe user interface 201 for use by a support agent and a customer. Forexample, it may be desirable to have a simpler interface for a customerthat omits elements 207, 208, and 209.

FIG. 3A is an illustrative example of an embodiment of a user interfacefor a service board to facilitate a support agent using chat sessions tomanage service level agreements of support tickets. The user interface301 can include a table 302 with each row 304 a, 304 b, and so onrepresenting a support ticket that is associated with the support agent.The table 302 can have column headers 303 to indicate the values in thecolumns 305 a-f. Each row can have a column 305 a that displays the nameof the customer associated with the support ticket, a column 305 b thatdisplays the creation time of the support ticket, a column 305 c thatdisplays the maximum response time of the SLA associated with thesupport ticket, a column 305 d that displays a descriptive summary ofthe support ticket, a column 305 e that displays the current SLAcompliance status of the support ticket, and a column 305 f with aselectable control that can be used by the support agent to start a chatsession associated with the support ticket.

FIG. 3B is an illustrative example of an embodiment of a user interfacefor a customer to use chat sessions to manage support tickets and alsofacilitate managing the service level agreements of those supporttickets. The user interface 311 can include a display 312 of the name ofthe customer, a display 313 of the default maximum resolution time forSLAs associated with support tickets created by the customer, a display314 of the current time used for managing SLAs, and a table 315 of opensupport tickets that are associated with the customer. Each row 317 a,317 b, and so on in the table 315 can represent a support ticket that isassociated with the customer. The table 315 can have column headers 316to indicate the values in the columns 318 a-d. Each row can have acolumn 318 a that displays the creation time of the support ticket, acolumn 318 b that displays the current SLA compliance status of thesupport ticket, a column 318 c that displays a descriptive summary ofthe support ticket, and a column 318 d with a selectable control thatcan be used by the customer to start a chat session associated with thesupport ticket.

FIG. 4 is an illustrative block diagram of an embodiment of a system formanaging service level agreement compliance of support tickets usingchat sessions. The server 401 can access a database 402 and retrieve,into memory 403, a support ticket 404 and a service level agreement(SLA) 405. The support ticket 404 can include a creation time 406 a, areference 406 b to an SLA, and a ticket status 406 c. In the embodimentdepicted in FIG. 4, the reference 406 b is associated with the SLA 405.The SLA 405 can include a maximum response time 407 a and a maximumresolution time 407 b. A support agent 409 a can use a computing device408 a to interact with the server 401 to start a chat session 410 a. Thechat session 410 a can be associated with the support ticket 404. Thechat session 410 a can record a time stamp 411 a when the support agent409 a creates the first chat comment. A compliance measurement 412 cancompute the elapsed time between the creation time 406 a of the supportticket 404 and the time stamp 411 a of the first response of the supportagent 409 a, and compare it to the maximum response time 407 a of theSLA 405. If the elapsed time is greater than the maximum response time407 a, the compliance measurement 412 can determine that the supportticket 404 is not in compliance with the SLA 405; otherwise thecompliance measurement 412 can determine that the support ticket 404 isin compliance with the SLA 405. The compliance measurement 412 cantransmit this determination to the server 401. The server 401 maygenerate a notification 413 about the SLA compliance, based on thisdetermination.

In one embodiment, a computing device 408 b can communicate with theserver 401 to terminate the chat session 410 a, or the support agent 409a may use the computing device 408 a communicating with the server 401to terminate the chat session 410 a. The chat session 410 a can record atime stamp 411 b when the chat session 410 a was terminated, indicatingthis time stamp 411 b as the resolution time of the support ticket 404.The compliance measurement 412 can compute the elapsed time between thecreation time 406 a of the support ticket 404 and the time stamp 411 bof the resolution of the support ticket 404, and compare it to themaximum resolution time 407 b of the SLA 405. If the elapsed time isgreater than the maximum resolution time 407 b, the compliancemeasurement 412 can determine that the support ticket 404 is not incompliance with the SLA 405; otherwise the compliance measurement 412can determine that the support ticket 404 is in compliance with the SLA405. The compliance measurement 412 can transmit this determination tothe server 401. The server 401 may generate a notification 413 about theSLA compliance, based on this determination.

In one embodiment, when the chat session 410 a is terminated, the server401 can update the status 406 c of the support ticket 404 to indicate a“closed” status.

In one embodiment, after the status 406 c of the support ticket 404 hasbeen updated to indicate a closed status, a customer 409 b can use acomputing device 408 b in communication with the server 401 to start asecond chat session 410 b associated with support ticket 404. The chatsession 410 b can record a time stamp 411 c when the customer 409 bcreates the first chat comment. The server 401 can use this time stamp411 c to update the creation time 406 a of the support ticket 404, andcan update the status 406 c of the support ticket 404 to indicate a“reopened” status. In this way the server 401 can prepare the supportticket 404 for SLA compliance management with regards to its use in anew support incident.

In one embodiment, the customer 409 b can use the computing device 408 bin communication with the server 401 to close the support ticket 404 byupdating the ticket status 406 c to a “closed” status, or the supportagent 409 a can use the computing device 408 a in communication with theserver 401 to close the support ticket 404 by updating the ticket status406 c to a “closed” status. The server 401 may terminate the chatsession 410 b as a result of closing the support ticket 404.

In some embodiments, the server 401 in FIG. 4 can include components orfunctionality of the server 101 as described with respect to FIG. 1. Insome embodiments, the database 402 in FIG. 4 can include components orfunctionality of the database 102 as described with respect to FIG. 1.In some embodiments, the memory 403 in FIG. 4 can include components orfunctionality of the memory 103 as described with respect to FIG. 1. Insome embodiments, the support ticket 404 in FIG. 4 can includecomponents or functionality of the support ticket 104 as described withrespect to FIG. 1. In some embodiments, the service level agreement 405in FIG. 4 can include components or functionality of the service levelagreement 105 as described with respect to FIG. 1. In some embodiments,the computing devices 408 a-b in FIG. 4 can include components orfunctionality of the computing device 108 as described with respect toFIG. 1. In some embodiments, the users 409 a-b in FIG. 4 can includecomponents or functionality of the support agent 109 as described withrespect to FIG. 1. In some embodiments, the chat sessions 410 a-b inFIG. 4 can include components or functionality of the chat session 110as described with respect to FIG. 1. In some embodiments, the timestamps 411 a-c in FIG. 4 can include components or functionality of thetime stamp 111 as described with respect to FIG. 1. In some embodiments,the compliance measurement 412 in FIG. 4 can include components orfunctionality of the compliance measurement 112 as described withrespect to FIG. 1. In some embodiments, the compliance notification 413in FIG. 4 can include components or functionality of the compliancenotification 113 as described with respect to FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an illustrative block diagram of an embodiment of a system formanaging service level agreement compliance of a support ticket whileclosing the support ticket. The server 501 can access a database 502 andretrieve, into memory 503, a support ticket 504 and a service levelagreement (SLA) 505. The support ticket 504 can include a creation time506 a, a reference 506 b to an SLA, and a ticket status 506 c. In theembodiment depicted in FIG. 5, the reference 506 b is associated withthe SLA 505. The SLA 505 can include a maximum response time 507 a and amaximum resolution time 507 b. A user 509, who may be a support agent ora customer, can use a computing device 508 in communication with theserver 501 to close the support ticket 504 by updating the ticket status506 c to a “closed” status. The server 501 can record the time stamp 511of this status update, indicating this time stamp 511 as the resolutiontime of the support ticket 504. The compliance measurement 512 cancompute the elapsed time between the creation time 506 a of the supportticket 504 and the time stamp 511 of the resolution of the supportticket 504, and compare it to the maximum resolution time 507 b of theSLA 505. If the elapsed time is greater than the maximum resolution time507 b, the compliance measurement 512 can determine that the supportticket 504 is not in compliance with the SLA 505; otherwise thecompliance measurement 512 can determine that the support ticket 504 isin compliance with the SLA 505. The compliance measurement 512 cantransmit this determination to the server 501. The server 501 maygenerate a notification 513 about the SLA compliance, based on thisdetermination.

In some embodiments, the server 501 in FIG. 5 can include components orfunctionality of the server 101 as described with respect to FIG. 1. Insome embodiments, the database 502 in FIG. 5 can include components orfunctionality of the database 102 as described with respect to FIG. 1.In some embodiments, the memory 503 in FIG. 5 can include components orfunctionality of the memory 103 as described with respect to FIG. 1. Insome embodiments, the support ticket 504 in FIG. 5 can includecomponents or functionality of the support ticket 104 as described withrespect to FIG. 1. In some embodiments, the service level agreement 505in FIG. 5 can include components or functionality of the service levelagreement 105 as described with respect to FIG. 1. In some embodiments,the computing device 508 in FIG. 5 can include components orfunctionality of the computing device 108 as described with respect toFIG. 1. In some embodiments, the user 509 in FIG. 5 can includecomponents or functionality of the support agent 109 as described withrespect to FIG. 1. In some embodiments, the time stamp 511 in FIG. 5 caninclude components or functionality of the time stamp 111 as describedwith respect to FIG. 1. In some embodiments, the compliance measurement512 in FIG. 5 can include components or functionality of the compliancemeasurement 112 as described with respect to FIG. 1. In someembodiments, the compliance notification 513 in FIG. 5 can includecomponents or functionality of the compliance notification 113 asdescribed with respect to FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is an illustrative block diagram of an embodiment of a system formanaging the service level agreement of a support ticket while creatingthe support ticket using a chat session. The server 601 can access adatabase 602 and retrieve, into memory 603, a list 604 of supporttickets 612 a, 612 b, and so on, and a list 605 of service levelagreements (SLAs) 613 a, 613 b, and so on. Each support ticket 612 a,612 b, and so on in the list 604 can include a creation time 606 a and areference 606 b to an SLA. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 6, thereference 606 b for support ticket 612 a is associated with the SLA 613a, and the reference 606 b for support ticket 612 b is associated withthe SLA 613 b. Each SLA 613 a, 613 b, and so on in the list 605 caninclude a maximum response time 607.

In one embodiment, the support ticket 612 b does not exist when theserver 601 initially accesses the database 602. A customer 609 can use acomputing device 608 in communication with the server 601 to start achat session 610 concerning a support issue. The server 601 can create anew support ticket 612 b and associate it with the chat session 610. Thechat session 610 can record a time stamp 611 when the customer 609creates the first chat comment. The server 601 can use the time stamp611 to set the creation time 606 a of the new support ticket 612 b.

In some embodiments, the server 601 in FIG. 6 can include components orfunctionality of the server 101 as described with respect to FIG. 1. Insome embodiments, the database 602 in FIG. 6 can include components orfunctionality of the database 102 as described with respect to FIG. 1.In some embodiments, the memory 603 in FIG. 6 can include components orfunctionality of the memory 103 as described with respect to FIG. 1. Insome embodiments, each support ticket 612 a, 612 b, and so on in thelist 604 in FIG. 6 can include components or functionality of thesupport ticket 104 as described with respect to FIG. 1. In someembodiments, each service level agreement 613 a, 613 b, and so on in thelist 605 in FIG. 6 can include components or functionality of theservice level agreement 105 as described with respect to FIG. 1. In someembodiments, the computing device 608 in FIG. 6 can include componentsor functionality of the computing device 108 as described with respectto FIG. 1. In some embodiments, the customer 609 in FIG. 6 can includecomponents or functionality of the support agent 109 as described withrespect to FIG. 1. In some embodiments, the chat session 610 in FIG. 6can include components or functionality of the chat session 110 asdescribed with respect to FIG. 1. In some embodiments, the time stamp611 in FIG. 6 can include components or functionality of the time stamp111 as described with respect to FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is an illustrative block diagram of an embodiment of a system forwarning service level agreement compliance issues of a support ticket.The server 701 can access a database 702 and retrieve, into memory 703,a support ticket 704 and a service level agreement (SLA) 705. Thesupport ticket 704 can include a creation time 706 a and a reference 706b to an SLA. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 7, the reference 706 bis associated with the SLA 705. The SLA 705 can include a maximumresponse time 707. The server can retrieve a time stamp 711 representingthe current time from a clock 715. A compliance measurement 712 cancompute the elapsed time between the creation time 706 a of the supportticket 704 and the time stamp 711 of the current time, and compare it tothe maximum response time 707 of the SLA 705. If the elapsed time isgreater than a value that is either the maximum response time 707 minusa threshold, or a value that is a percentage of the maximum responsetime 707, then the compliance measurement 712 can determine that thesupport ticket 704 may be in danger of becoming non-compliant with theSLA 705; otherwise the compliance measurement 712 can determine that thesupport ticket 704 is not in danger of becoming non-compliant with theSLA 705. The compliance measurement 712 can transmit this determinationto the server 701. The server 701 may generate a warning notification713 about the SLA compliance, based on this determination.

In some embodiments, the server 701 in FIG. 7 can include components orfunctionality of the server 101 as described with respect to FIG. 1. Insome embodiments, the database 702 in FIG. 7 can include components orfunctionality of the database 102 as described with respect to FIG. 1.In some embodiments, the memory 703 in FIG. 7 can include components orfunctionality of the memory 103 as described with respect to FIG. 1. Insome embodiments, the support ticket 704 in FIG. 7 can includecomponents or functionality of the support ticket 104 as described withrespect to FIG. 1. In some embodiments, the service level agreement 705in FIG. 7 can include components or functionality of the service levelagreement 105 as described with respect to FIG. 1. In some embodiments,the time stamp 711 in FIG. 7 can include components or functionality ofthe time stamp 111 as described with respect to FIG. 1. In someembodiments, the compliance measurement 712 in FIG. 7 can includecomponents or functionality of the compliance measurement 112 asdescribed with respect to FIG. 1. In some embodiments, the compliancenotification 713 in FIG. 7 can include components or functionality ofthe compliance notification 113 as described with respect to FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is an illustrative flowchart depicting one embodiment of a methodof managing information technology service level agreements via acomputer network. The method 801 can include accessing, by a server, adatabase storing, in memory, a support ticket comprising a creation timeand service level agreement, the service level agreement comprising amaximum response time (802). The method 801 can include receiving inputfrom a computing device (803). The method 801 can include initiating, bythe server via the computer network, responsive to input from acomputing device, a chat session associated with the computing deviceand the support ticket, the initiating associated with a time stamp(804). The method 801 can include computing a compliance computed as thedifference between the time stamp and the creation time, and comparingthe result to see if it is less than the maximum response time in theSLA (805). The method 801 can include checking whether the comparisonwas less (806). In some embodiments, the method 801 can includeindicating that the support ticket is non-compliant with the SLA (807).In some embodiments, the method 801 can include indicating that thesupport ticket is compliant with the SLA (808). The method 801 caninclude generating, by the server, a notification of the compliance withthe service level agreement (809).

FIG. 9 is an illustrative flowchart depicting one embodiment of a methodof checking service level agreement compliance as a result ofterminating a chat session. The method 901 can include terminating, bythe server via the computer network, responsive to input from a secondcomputing device, the chat session, the terminating associated with asecond time stamp (902). The method 901 can include computing acompliance computed as the difference between the second time stamp andthe time stamp, and comparing the result to see if it is less than themaximum resolution time in the SLA (903). The method 901 can includechecking whether the comparison was less (904). In some embodiments, themethod 901 can include indicating that the support ticket isnon-compliant with the SLA (905). In some embodiments, the method 901can include indicating that the support ticket is compliant with the SLA(906). The method 901 can include generating, by the server, anotification of the compliance with the service level agreement (907).

FIG. 10 is an illustrative flowchart depicting one embodiment of amethod of closing a support ticket and checking service level agreementcompliance as a result of terminating a chat session. The method 1001can include waiting for the chat session to terminate (1002). The method1001 can include modifying, by the server, responsive to theterminating, the status to indicate a closed status (1003).

FIG. 11 is an illustrative flowchart depicting one embodiment of amethod of reopening an existing support ticket with a chat session. Themethod 1101 can include receiving input from a second computing device(1102). The method 1101 can include initiating, by the server via thecomputer network, responsive to input from a second computing device, asecond chat session associated with the second computing device and thesupport ticket (1103). The method 1101 can include recording a secondtime stamp (1104). The method 1101 can include modifying, by the server,responsive to the initiating of the second chat session, the status toindicate an open status (1105). The method 1101 can include modifying,by the server, responsive to the initiating of the second chat session,the creation time to be the second time stamp (1106).

FIG. 12 is an illustrative flowchart depicting one embodiment of amethod of checking service level agreement compliance as a result ofclosing a support ticket. The method 1201 can include modifying, by theserver, responsive to input from a second computing device, the statusto indicate a closed status, the modifying associated with a second timestamp (1202). The method 1201 can include computing a compliancecomputed as the difference between the second time stamp and the timestamp, and comparing the result to see if it is less than the maximumresolution time in the SLA (1203). The method 1201 can include checkingwhether the comparison was less (1204). In some embodiments, the method1201 can include indicating that the support ticket is non-compliantwith the SLA (1205). In some embodiments, the method 1201 can includeindicating that the support ticket is compliant with the SLA (1206). Themethod 1201 can include generating, by the server, a notification of thecompliance with the service level agreement (1207).

FIG. 13 is an illustrative flowchart depicting one embodiment of amethod of terminating a chat session as a result of closing a supportticket. The method 1301 can include modifying, by the server, responsiveto input from a second computing device, the status to indicate a closedstatus (1302). The method 1301 can include terminating, by the servervia the computer network, responsive to the modifying, the chat session(1303).

FIG. 14 is an illustrative flowchart depicting one embodiment of amethod of creating a new support ticket with a chat session. The method1401 can include receiving input from a second computing device (1402).The method 1401 can include initiating, by the server via the computernetwork, responsive to input from the second computing device, a secondchat session associated with the second computing device (1403). Themethod 1401 can include recording a second time stamp (1404). The method1401 can include creating a second support ticket (1405). The method1401 can include setting the creation time of the second support ticketto be the time indicated by the second time stamp (1406).

FIG. 15 is an illustrative flowchart depicting one embodiment of amethod of warning about potential service level agreement complianceissues. The method 1501 can include receiving, by the server from aclock, a current time as a second time stamp (1502). The method 1501 caninclude computing a compliance computed as the difference between thesecond time stamp and the time stamp, and comparing the result to see ifit is less than the maximum response time in the SLA (1503). The method1501 can include checking whether the comparison was less (1504). Insome embodiments, the method 1501 can include indicating that thesupport ticket is non-compliant with the SLA (1505). In someembodiments, the method 1501 can include indicating that the supportticket is compliant with the SLA (1506). The method 1501 can includegenerating, by the server, a warning notification of the possiblecompliance issue with the service level agreement (1507).

Embodiments of the subject matter and the operations described in thisspecification can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or incomputer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structuresdisclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or incombinations of one or more of them. The subject matter described inthis specification can be implemented as one or more computer programs,i.e., one or more circuits of computer program instructions, encoded onone or more computer storage media for execution by, or to control theoperation of, data processing apparatus. Alternatively or in addition,the program instructions can be encoded on an artificially generatedpropagated signal, e.g., a machine-generated electrical, optical, orelectromagnetic signal that is generated to encode information fortransmission to suitable receiver apparatus for execution by a dataprocessing apparatus. A computer storage medium can be, or be includedin, a computer-readable storage device, a computer-readable storagesubstrate, a random or serial access memory array or device, or acombination of one or more of them. Moreover, while a computer storagemedium is not a propagated signal, a computer storage medium can be asource or destination of computer program instructions encoded in anartificially generated propagated signal. The computer storage mediumcan also be, or be included in, one or more separate components or media(e.g., multiple CDs, disks, or other storage devices).

It should be understood that the systems described above may providemultiple ones of any or each of those components and these componentsmay be provided on either a standalone machine or, in some embodiments,on multiple machines in a distributed system. The systems and methodsdescribed above may be implemented as a method, apparatus or article ofmanufacture using programming and/or engineering techniques to producesoftware, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof. In addition,the systems and methods described above may be provided as one or morecomputer-readable programs embodied on or in one or more articles ofmanufacture. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein isintended to encompass code or logic accessible from and embedded in oneor more computer-readable devices, firmware, programmable logic, memorydevices (e.g., EEPROMs, ROMs, PROMs, RAMs, SRAMs, etc.), hardware (e.g.,integrated circuit chip, Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA),Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), etc.), electronicdevices, a computer readable non-volatile storage unit (e.g., CD-ROM,floppy disk, hard disk drive, etc.). The article of manufacture may beaccessible from a file server providing access to the computer-readableprograms via a network transmission line, wireless transmission media,signals propagating through space, radio waves, infrared signals, etc.The article of manufacture may be a flash memory card or a magnetictape. The article of manufacture includes hardware logic as well assoftware or programmable code embedded in a computer readable mediumthat is executed by a processor. In general, the computer-readableprograms may be implemented in any programming language, such as LISP,PERL, C, C++, C#, PROLOG, or in any byte code language such as JAVA. Thesoftware programs may be stored on or in one or more articles ofmanufacture as object code.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various systemcomponents in the embodiments described above should not be understoodas requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should beunderstood that the described program components and systems cangenerally be integrated in a single software product or packaged intomultiple software products.

References to “or” may be construed as inclusive so that any termsdescribed using “or” may indicate any of a single, more than one, andall of the described terms.

Thus, particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described.Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. In somecases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a differentorder and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the processesdepicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require theparticular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirableresults. In certain embodiments, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anyinventions or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions offeatures specific to particular implementations of particularinventions. Certain features described in this specification in thecontext of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combinationin a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in thecontext of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multipleembodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover,although features may be described above as acting in certaincombinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more featuresfrom a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from thecombination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a subcombination.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of managing information technologyservice level agreements via a computer network, comprising: accessing,by a server, a database storing, in memory, a support ticket comprisinga creation time and service level agreement, the service level agreementcomprising a maximum response time; initiating, by the server via thecomputer network, responsive to input from a computing device, a chatsession associated with the computing device and the support ticket, theinitiating associated with a time stamp; determining, by the server, acompliance with the service level agreement, the compliance computed asa difference between the time stamp and the creation time being lessthan the maximum response time; and generating, by the server, anotification of the compliance with the service level agreement.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the service level agreement further comprisesa maximum resolution time, further comprising: terminating, by theserver via the computer network, responsive to input from a secondcomputing device, the chat session, the terminating associated with asecond time stamp; determining, by the server, a second compliance withthe service level agreement, the second compliance computed as thedifference between the second time stamp and the time stamp being lessthan the maximum resolution time; and generating, by the server, asecond notification of the second compliance with the service levelagreement.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the support ticket furthercomprises a status, further comprising: modifying, by the server,responsive to the terminating, the status to indicate a closed status.4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: initiating, by the servervia the computer network, responsive to input from a second computingdevice, a second chat session associated with the second computingdevice and the support ticket, the initiating associated with a secondtime stamp; and modifying, by the server, responsive to the initiatingof the second chat session, the status to indicate an open status, andthe creation time to be the second time stamp.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the service level agreement further comprises a maximumresolution time and the support ticket further comprising a status, themethod further comprising: modifying, by the server, responsive to inputfrom a second computing device, the status to indicate a closed status,the modifying associated with a second time stamp; determining, by theserver, a second compliance with the service level agreement, the secondcompliance computed as the difference between the second time stamp andthe time stamp being less than the maximum resolution time; andgenerating, by the server, a second notification of the secondcompliance with the service level agreement.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the support ticket further comprises a status, furthercomprising: modifying, by the server, responsive to input from a secondcomputing device, the status to indicate a closed status; andterminating, by the server via the computer network, responsive to themodifying, the chat session.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: initiating, by the server via the computer network,responsive to input from a second computing device, a second chatsession associated with the second computing device, the secondinitiating associated with a second time stamp; and creating, by theserver, a second support ticket comprising a second creation time, thesecond creation time equal to the second time stamp.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the server from a clock, acurrent time as a second time stamp; determining, by the server, awarning of the service level agreement, the warning computed as thedifference between the second time stamp and the creation time beingmore than a threshold percentage of the maximum response time; andgenerating, by the server, a notification of the warning of the servicelevel agreement.
 9. A system for managing information technology servicelevel agreements via a computer network, comprising: a server includinga processor and memory configured to: access a database storing asupport ticket comprising a creation time and service level agreement,the service level agreement comprising a maximum response time;initiate, via the computer network, responsive to input from a computingdevice, a chat session associated with the computing device and thesupport ticket, the initiating associated with a time stamp; determine acompliance with the service level agreement, the compliance computed asa difference between the time stamp and the creation time being lessthan the maximum response time; and generate a notification of thecompliance with the service level agreement.
 10. The system of claim 9,wherein: the service level agreement further comprises a maximumresolution time; and the server is further configured to: terminate, viathe computer network, responsive to input from a second computingdevice, the chat session, the terminating associated with a second timestamp; determine a second compliance with the service level agreement,the second compliance computed as the difference between the second timestamp and the time stamp being less than the maximum resolution time;and generate a second notification of the second compliance with theservice level agreement.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein: thesupport ticket further comprises a status; and the server is furtherconfigured to: modify responsive to the terminating, the status toindicate a closed status.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the serveris further configured to: initiate, via the computer network, responsiveto input from a second computing device, a second chat sessionassociated with the second computing device and the support ticket, theinitiating associated with a second time stamp; and modify, responsiveto the initiating of the second chat session, the status to indicate anopen status, and the creation time to be the second time stamp.
 13. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein: the service level agreement furthercomprises a maximum resolution time; the support ticket furthercomprises a status; and the server is further configured to: modify,responsive to input from a second computing device, the status toindicate a closed status, the modifying associated with a second timestamp; determine a second compliance with the service level agreement,the second compliance computed as the difference between the second timestamp and the time stamp being less than the maximum resolution time;and generate a second notification of the second compliance with theservice level agreement.
 14. The system of claim 9, wherein: the supportticket further comprises a status; and the server is further configuredto: modify, responsive to input from a second computing device, thestatus to indicate a closed status; and terminate, via the computernetwork, responsive to the modifying, the chat session.
 15. The systemof claim 9, wherein the server is further configured to: initiate, viathe computer network, responsive to input from a second computingdevice, a second chat session associated with the second computingdevice, the second initiating associated with a second time stamp; andcreate a second support ticket comprising a second creation time, thesecond creation time equal to the second time stamp.
 16. The system ofclaim 9, wherein the server is further configured to: receive, from aclock, a current time as a second time stamp; determine a warning of theservice level agreement, the warning computed as the difference betweenthe second time stamp and the creation time being more than a thresholdpercentage of the maximum response time; and generate a notification ofthe warning of the service level agreement.